Surviving the Anthropocene in China

Edward Wong’s fascinating personal essay reveals the extreme lengths that foreigners and wealthy Chinese go to in order to survive in a country where the air, food and water are toxic. Children are raised indoors, surrounded by high-tech air filters. Adults wear face masks when they venture outside. Stranger still (from an outsider’s perspective) is the quest for safe staple foods such as infant formula:

“So widespread is the phenomenon of Chinese buying milk powder abroad that it has led to shortages in at least a half-dozen countries. Hong Kong has even cracked down on what customs officials call “syndicates” smuggling foreign-made powder to mainland China.”

Perhaps it’s time for a new field guide: Survival Strategies in the Anthropocene. Read Wong’s full article at the New York Times.